Differential dynamic programming applied to interplanetary solar-sail trajectory optimization

Recent studies have shown the feasibility of differential dynamic programming (DDP) in optimizing Earth-centered solar-sail trajectories. In order to further demonstrate the ability of DDP in the optimization of solar-sail trajectories, this work investigates the performance of DDP for optimizing interplanetary solar-sail trajectories. The...

Coupled roto-translational motion of the heliogyro applied to Earth-Mars cyclers

Solar sailing is a flight-proven low-thrust propulsion technology with strong potential for innovative scientific missions. The heliogyro is promising sailcraft design that utilizes a set of long slender blades which are deployed and flattened by spin-induced tension and whose orientations can be individually controlled. The main advantages of...

Many-revolution Earth-centred solar-sail trajectory optimisation using differential dynamic programming

This thesis demonstrates the usability of differential dynamic programming (DDP) to obtain, for the first time, globally optimal Earth-centred solar-sail trajectories. To this end, DDP is combined with a global optimisation heuristic, monotonic basin hopping. The dynamical model is implemented as a two-body problem, augmented with an ideal solar...

Time-Optimal Transfers Between Planar Solar-Sail Libration Point Orbits

This paper presents time-optimal transfer trajectories between planar solar-sail displaced libration point orbits around the $L_1$ and $L_2$ points of the Sun-Earth and Earth-Moon systems. Initial guesses for these transfers are generated as two-segment trajectories, with a fixed sail attitude along each segment. The position and velocity...

Optimizing a Solar Sailing Polar Mission to the Sun: Development and Application of a New Ant Colony Optimizer

In the context of metaheuristic global optimization, we present the definition and development of two new ant colony optimizers (ACO): a single-objective mixed-integer one, called ACOmi, and a multi-objective hypervolume-based one, called MHACO. In particular, after having performed a verification and validation phase over a wide set of problems...

Optimization of Solar Sailcraft Trajectory for a Comet Sample Return Mission

Comets, the sporadic visitors from the outer edges of the Solar System, are considered to hold the key for understanding the formation of planets and the origin of life on Earth. Having spent the majority of time away from the radiative environment of the inner Solar System, the chemistry of the comets has remained unaltered, making them the...

Solar-sail transfers to Earth-Moon L2-displaced vertical Lyapunov orbits

This thesis presents the design of solar-sail transfer trajectories to a constellation of two spacecraft in displaced vertical Lyapunov orbits at the L2 point of the Earth-Moon system. The constellation provides continuous coverage of the Aitken basin and the lunar South Pole. Initial guesses for the transfers are generated using reverse time...

Time-optimal solar sail transfers from Earth to pole-sitters at Mars and Venus

Recent studies have shown the feasibility of (quasi-)pole-sitter orbits at Mars and Venus, which involves a satellite positioned along or near the polar axis of a planet in order to have a continuous, hemispherical view of the planet's polar regions. In order to further demonstrate the feasibility of this mission concept, this thesis...